This invention relates to reservoir systems for rod-like articles, particularly articles of the tobacco industry such as cigarettes or filter rods.
In the manufacture of articles of the tobacco industry it is common to transport the articles directly from a delivery device such as a producing machine to a receiving device such as a packing machine, with the articles being conveyed in the form of a continuous multi-layer stream of articles moving in a direction transverse to the lengths of the articles. Typically such streams are 90-100 mm in height. It is known to provide a buffer reservoir for accommodating temporary or longer term differences in the rates of operation of the delivery and receiving devices, such reservoirs often taking the form of conveyor means supporting a variable length multi-layer stream of articles which is moved towards or away from a junction with a similar stream passing directly from the delivery device to the receiving device. Such buffer reservoirs may comprise reversible conveyors provided with an end wall or the like for bounding the leading end of a stream of articles in the reservoir. Examples of reservoirs of this type are disclosed in British patent specifications Nos. 1299174 and 2133759, and also in the Hierons U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,092 and the Brown et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,888, to which specifications and patents reference is directed in their entireties.
Reversible reservoirs are commonly referred to as first-in last-out devices, because the first articles to enter the device are the last articles to leave the device. Reservoirs for rod-like articles acting on a first-in first-out principle are also known, for example from European patent specification No. 581143A. One perceived advantage of first-in first-out reservoirs is that there is no possibility in normal operation of any articles remaining in the reservoir for an excessive period of time.